Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM's address at community reception in Berlin, Germany
Bharat Mata ki Jai! Namaskar!
I am privileged that I got the opportunity to meet the children of Maa Bharati in Germany today. It feels great to meet you. Many of you have come to Berlin today from different cities of Germany. I was surprised to see many small children here out in the cold at 4.30 a.m., whereas it is very hot in India nowadays. Your love and blessings are my great strength. I have met many of you during my earlier visit to Germany. I also had the opportunity to meet some of you during your visit to India. I can see a large number of the people of the young generation who are very enthusiastic. I am very grateful to you from my heart that you took time off from your busy schedule to come here. Our ambassador was just mentioning that Indians are less in terms of numbers in Germany, but there is no dearth of your affection and enthusiasm and when the people of India see this then they too feel proud.
Friends,
Today I have come here neither to talk about myself nor about the Modi government, but I want to talk about the capabilities of crores of Indians and sing their praises. When I speak about crores of Indians, it includes not only the people who live in India, but also those who live here. It is about all the children of Maa Bharati who live in every corner of the world. First of all, I congratulate all the Indians for being successful in Germany. I wish you the very best.
Friends,
This period of the 21st century is very important for India, for Indians, and especially for our youth. Today India has made up its mind and is moving ahead with a resolve. Today India knows where, how and how far it has to go. And you know that when a country is determined, it chooses new ways and achieves its destination. Today's aspirational India and the youth want rapid development of the country. He knows that political stability and strong will is very essential. Today’s India understands it very well. The people of India ended the politically unstable atmosphere of the last three decades by pressing a button. In the last seven-eight years, the voter of India has started realizing the power of his vote and how that one vote can change India. It was the desire for a positive change and rapid development that the people of India elected a government with absolute majority in 2014 and this has happened after 30 years.
It is the vision of the great people of India that it made the government of the country stronger than before in 2019. The people of India handed over power to the decisive government needed to take India forward in all spheres. Friends, I know that many expectations are attached with us, with me, but I also know that India can reach new heights by working hard and with the support and leadership of crores of Indians. India will not waste time now. India realizes the importance of the present period, its potential and what is to be achieved during this period.
Friends,
We are celebrating the 75th year of our independence this year. I am the first prime minister of the country who was born in independent India. The peak on which India would be at that time when India celebrates 100 years of its independence after 25 years, it is strongly taking step after step and walking swiftly toward that goal.
Friends,
There has never been a dearth of resources in India. The country chose a path and a direction after independence. However, due to some reason or the other, we have been left behind in carrying out many broader and rapid changes that should have taken place over time. There was only one solution to the self-confidence of Indians which was crushed during the foreign rule over years. It was very important to instill confidence and self-respect in the people of India, and for that it was very important to have people’s trust in the government. There was a huge trust gap between the government and the people due to the British legacy. Clouds of suspicion were looming large. Speed was lacking in the changes that were necessary after British rule. Therefore, the need of the hour was that there should be less of government in the life of the common man, there should be minimum government, maximum governance. There should not be absence of government where there is a need, but there should be no influence of the government where there is no need.
Friends,
The country progresses when the people of the country themselves lead its development. The country progresses when the people of the country come forward and decide its direction. In today's India, it is not the government, or Modi, but the crores of the people who are the driving force. That is why we are ending unnecessary interference of the government from the lives of the people of the country. We are transforming the country through reforms. And I always say that reform requires political will, performance requires establishment of government machinery and transformation requires public participation. Only then the vehicle of reform, perform and transform moves forward. Today India is working fast and setting new dimensions in ease of living, quality of life, ease of employment, quality of education, ease of mobility, quality of travel, ease of doing business, quality of services and quality of products. It is the same country that you left behind and came here. Bureaucracy, government offices and government machinery is the same, but now we are getting better results.
Friends,
Before 2014, there used to be a big complaint whenever I would talk to friends like you. You would remember those days when ‘Work in progress’ was omnipresent. I am not criticizing anybody, but it had been a norm in our country that a road was dug for electricity lines soon after it was built. Then people from the water department would go there for water lines. Then it would be the turn of the telephone department. So much money used to be spent on a road but the work would still not be over. I have given you only one example, because you have seen all these things. It happens because there is either no communication between the government departments or there is no coordination of information. Everyone has created his own world and is ensconced in it. Everyone has a report card of building so many roads, laying so many wires and pipes, but the outcome was 'Work in Progress'.
Now we have prepared the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan to break these silos. It is being praised all around. We have brought all the stakeholders in every infrastructure project on a single platform by ending every departmental silo. Now all the departments of the governments are planning their respective work in advance. This new approach has increased the speed and scale of development projects. India's biggest strength today is scope, speed and scale. Today India is witnessing unprecedented investment in social and physical infrastructure. An environment of consensus has been created to implement the new education policy, while on the other hand, work is going on to implement the new health policy. Today, a record number of new airports are being built in India, connecting small cities with air routes. The amount of work being done on Metro connectivity in India today has never been done before. A record number of new mobile towers are being installed in India today and 5G is knocking on the doors of India. A record number of villages are being connected with optical fiber in India today. You can imagine that lakhs of villages will be covered by optical fiber network and India's villages will be connected with the world. The people in India and Germany will be able to realize the rapid internet connectivity in India. And you will applaud that the cheapest data which is available in India is unimaginable for many countries. Now India does not think small. India accounts for 40% of the real time digital payments globally.
Friends,
Let me tell you one more thing and you will definitely like it. One does not need to carry cash while travelling in India. All kinds of payments are being made through mobile phones even in the remotest villages.
Friends,
The way technology is being incorporated into governance in India today demonstrates the new political will of a new India and is a testament to the delivery capability of democracy. This figure will surprise you. Today, about 10,000 services of the central government, state governments and local self-governments are available online. Be it the government assistance, scholarship, or the price of the farmer's crop, everything is now being directly transferred to the bank account. Now no prime minister will have to say that I send one rupee from Delhi and fifteen paise reaches people. What was the hand that withdrew 85 paise?
You would also like to know the figures which I am sharing with you. Will you remember these figures? Do not be afraid, this is your effort. In the last seven-eight years, the Government of India sent money into the accounts of the beneficiaries with a single click through the DBT . The amount that we sent through DBT is more than Rs 22 lakh crore. Now that you are in Germany, then let me tell you that it is more than $ 300 billion. There is no middleman and no commission. It has led to transparency in the system, and as a result, these policies, intent and technology have helped bridge that trust gap.
Friends,
The common citizen is empowered when there are such tools available. Therefore, it is very natural that he becomes confident and he himself starts making the resolution and realizes it through hard work. Only then the country moves forward, friends. The new India does not just think of a secure future, but it is prepared to take risks, innovate and incubate. I remember there used to be only 200-400 start-ups in the country around 2014. Today there are more than 68,000 start-ups. From 400 to 68,000! Did not your chest swell with pride and your head hold high after listening to this? Not only this, dozens of start-ups became unicorns as per the parameters of the world. It is not only limited to unicorns. There are many unicorns which have become decacorns worth more than 10 billion dollars in no time. I remember when I was the Chief Minister of Gujarat and I would ask the officials about their children. They would say their children were preparing for IAS. Now If I ask them the same question, they say their children are involved in start-ups. This is not a small change, friends.
Friends,
What is the basic issue? Today the government is encouraging the innovators and not binding them. The government is providing a nurturing environment if you want to do innovations in the field of geospatial technology, make new drones, or make new satellites, or rockets in the field of space. There was a time when it used to take months to register a company if one failed to attach a particular paper. When the trust of the citizens increases in the government, then the gap of mistrust ends. Friends, today, it takes 24 hours to register a company. In the last few years, it was a norm in government offices to ask for the same documents several times. If there are six people in an office, they will separately ask for the same document. There were so many compliance guidelines.
Friends,
You will be surprised that we have abolished more than 25,000 compliances. Now I have to do this work also. I was preparing for the 2013 elections after my party nominated me for the Prime Ministerial candidate. One day, businessmen from Delhi called me to a business summit. There was a gentleman who was explaining about so many rules and regulations. Generally, people make tall promises during election campaigns. But friends, I am made of a different soil. When I rose to speak, I said you people are talking about new laws, but I have a different intention. I don’t know whether you will vote for me if I tell you about my intention. I told them that I promise to abolish one law every day if I am elected. Many people were surprised that this person has no understanding of governance. But today friends, I am giving you my account. Friends, I have abolished 1,500 laws in the first 5 years of my government. Why should there be the burden of this web of laws on the citizens?
India is an independent country. This country does not belong to Modi, but to the 130 crore citizens. Look at the specialty of our country. There was one country, but two constitutions. Why did it take so much time? There was a term coined ‘Tubelight’. It took seven decades to implement one constitution across the country. Similarly, if a poor man lived in Jabalpur and he had a ration card there, the same ration card was of no use if he was forced to come to Jaipur for a living. There was one country, but separate ration cards. Today, there is One Nation, One Ration Card. Earlier, if someone wanted to invest in the country, there used to be different taxation rules if he wanted to set up three companies in Gujarat, Maharashtra and Bengal separately. He had to hire a chartered accountant at all the three places as there were different laws. Today, there is one tax system. Our Finance Minister Nirmala ji is sitting here. You know what happened in April. There was a record GST collection of 1.68 lakh crore. Did it not happen in the direction of One Nation, One Tax firmly?
Friends,
Make in India is becoming the driving force of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat campaign. A confident India today is not only easing the process but also supporting investments with production-linked incentives. Its impact is also visible on the exports from India. Just a few days ago, we broke the record of 400 billion dollars of exports. If we look at the Goods and Services, India’s exports accounted for $ 670 billion i.e. about 50 lakh crore rupees last year. Did your hands freeze for applause after this figure? Many new districts of India are expanding their scope for exports to new countries. What is being manufactured today is ‘Zero Defect, Zero Effect’. With this mantra, the country is moving in the direction of production where there is no quality defect and there is no effect on the environment due to production.
Friends,
The biggest truth of this third decade of the 21st century is that today India is going global. During the period of Corona, India helped save many lives by sending essential medicines to more than 150 countries. When India succeeded in developing vaccines for Covid, we helped about 100 countries with our vaccines, friends.
Friends,
Today’s breaking news, sorry for the interruption. Today the world is facing a wheat shortage. Major countries of the world are worried about food security. At such a time, the farmers of India are coming forward to feed the world, friends.
Friends,
Whenever humanity faces any crisis, India comes up with a solution. Congratulations to those who bring the crisis, we come with the solution and the world cheers, friends. This is the new India; this is the potential of the new India. Those who haven't been to India in years should not feel embarrassed. But they must be wondering how did this happen? How did such a big change come? No friends, your answer is wrong. Modi has not done anything, 130 crore countrymen have done it.
Friends,
Your contribution to India becoming global is also going to be important. The craze that has arisen for local products in India today is similar to the one for indigenous goods during the freedom movement. For a long time, we saw people bragging about buying foreign products. But today the people of India have a new feeling of pride about their local products. You would also know 10-20 years from now, when you used to write a letter to your family informing them about the date of your visit, you were told to bring a particular product on your way back home. Now when you have to visit your home, you are told not to bring anything as everything is available here. Am I right or not? Friends, this is the power and that's why I reiterate ‘vocal for local’, but not for the local products here . The local product is one in which the hard work of an Indian is involved, which has the smell of sweat of an Indian and which has the fragrance of that soil. Friends, the products which have been made in India and which have the sweat of the youth of India should be our fashion statement. Once you experience this feeling, you will feel the vibration spreading. When you go to India for 10 days the next time, then people from here will write a letter to you and ask you to bring something from India. Shouldn’t you do this?
Friends, let me tell you a great example of Khadi. All of you know Khadi. There used to be a relationship between Khadi and a politician. The politician and Khadi were inseparable. Khadi meant a politician and a politician meant Khadi. Unfortunately, the Khadi which Mahatma Gandhi lived in, the Khadi which gave power to the freedom movement in India, it was treated in the same manner after independence as to the dreams of the freedom lovers. Was it not the responsibility of the country? Khadi, which ensured the livelihood of a poor mother and support for a widowed mother to raise her children, was left to its fate and in a way was on the verge of extinction. I took the initiative when I became the Chief Minister. You proudly claim that you have this fabric, saree or kurta. Do you or not? I used to tell them to keep Khadi as well.
Friends,
It was a small issue, but today I bow my head before the country for embracing Khadi. You will also be happy to know that for the first time after 75 years of independence, when the country is celebrating the Amrit Mahotsav of independence, the turnover of Khadi crossed Rs 1 lakh crore this year. How many poor widowed mothers would have got livelihood? In the last 8 years, the production of Khadi has increased by almost 175 percent. The spirit with which I talk about start-ups, I speak about Khadi in the same spirit. The spirit with which I talk about satellites, I speak about the soil in the same spirit.
Friends,
Today I would urge all of you to join me in making India's local products global. You can easily get the people here acquainted with the diversity, power and the beauty of India's local products. Indian diaspora is spread in every country in the world and the specialty of Indian diaspora is that it merges  like sugar in milk. And in no time, it adds value and makes the milk sweet. Whoever has these abilities can easily make the local  of India global in Germany. Will you do it? Why is your voice suppressed? Friends, I believe in you and you will do it.
I want to remind you one more thing that today there is so much potential of Yoga, Ayurveda and the products of our traditional medicine that you cannot imagine. When you introduce yourself that you are from India, does not the other person ask you about Yoga? Even if you don’t know anything about Yoga, but if you touch your nose , he will consider you to be an expert. Such is the reputation of the penance of the sages of India that people are ready to pay you fees in dollars even if you put up a board, create an online platform and teach them how to touch their noses . What the sages left behind thousands of years ago has been reinvented before the world now. But are you associated with it? The International Yoga Day on 21st June is not far away. Therefore, I would urge you to spread across in teams and teach everybody about the benefits of Yoga.
Friends,
Today I want to discuss another topic with you and that is Climate Action. We are working on every solution from people’s power to tech power to tackle the climate challenge in India. In the last eight years, we have increased the coverage of LPG in India by 50 per cent to almost 100 per cent. Almost every house in India is now using LED bulbs. Under the Ujala scheme, we have distributed about 37 crore LED bulbs in the country and LED bulbs are used for saving energy. You can proudly tell the people in Germany how a small change in India led to the saving of about 48,000 million kilowatts of electricity. It has also led to the reduction of about 40 million tonnes of carbon emission annually. You can imagine how much this one scheme has protected the environment.
Friends, due to such efforts, India is opening a new avenue in green jobs at an unprecedented level. I am happy that India and Germany have also taken a step towards energy partnership. Friends, we have decided to take climate responsibility to the next level during the Amrit Mahotsav of freedom. I will give you an example that Indians have resolved to build 75 new Amrit Sarovars  in every district of the country. In the coming 500 days, 50,000 new water bodies will be built in the country and the old ponds will be revived. Water is life. If there is water, there is a future, but even for water one has to sweat, friends. Can you join this campaign? You should also cooperate in making a pond in the village from where you have come. And you can imagine how much joy it will give to all the Indians spread across the world for contributing to Amrit Sarovars during the Amrit Mahotsav of freedom.
Friends,
The famous German scholar Max Müller, who had the best understanding of India, talked about the shared future of the Indo-European world. All of you here must be mentioning him 10 times a day. This is the best time to implement it in the 21st century. The strong partnership of India and Europe can ensure peace and prosperity in the world. May this partnership continue to grow and you keep contributing for the humanity and welfare of India with the same enthusiasm because we believe in Vasudeva Kutumbakam . Friends, wherever you are, go ahead, flourish, may all your dreams come true, these are my very best wishes to you and the best wishes of 130 crore countrymen are with you. Be happy, stay healthy! Thanks a lot!
DISCLAIMER: This is the approximate translation of Prime Minister’s remarks. Original remarks were delivered in Hindi.